Press Release

Gary G. Oba Takes up Duties as Chief of the Economic and Travel Services Sections of the AIT Kaohsiung Branch Office

PR9635E | Date: 1996-07-22

Gary G. Oba, new Chief of the Economic and Travel Services Sections of the Kaohsiung Branch Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, arrived in Kaohsiung on July 1, 1996. He replaces Mr. Tim Neely, who has returned to Washington, D.C. Prior to taking up this appointment with the American Institute in Taiwan, Mr. Oba served as a Foreign Service Officer with postings in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (West Africa); Sapporo, Japan; and Washington, D.C. Prior to entering the foreign service, he worked as a City Manager/City Attorney in St. Mary's, Alaska, as an assistant plant manager for Icicle Seafoods, Inc., and as a commercial salmon fisherman.

Mr. Oba was born and raised in Colorado. He obtained an undergraduate (B.A.) degree in Asian Studies and Political Science at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. He subsequently obtained a Masters in Public Administration and a Juris Doctorate (law degree) at BYU. He is a member of the Alaska Bar Association.

He is married to Kaoru Yamamoto Oba, an intercultural communications consultant. They have two children: a daughter, Alisa (age 9), and a son, Ken (age 4).